We’re all at the point where if we didn’t have to utter the words “post punk” again, we could live very happily for the rest of our lives. Within the crowded genre, though, there will remain standouts who are able to avoid the put on vocal affectations, stylization over substance, and the adaptation of a style purely for the fact they’ve watched its success play out. Yard Act are such standouts. With the opening track to ‘The Overload’ by the same name, is not just a catchy tune to get the listener hooked, but an overture to the entire record. Taking on different characters and perspectives, vocalist James Smith is able to explore the complexity of the human experience from more than his own perspective — allowing the listener to come to their own conclusion rather than hitting them over the head with heavy-handed, overly righteous sentiments.
“Payday” is the perfect example of one of the varying characters and perspectives on the album. It’s a cautionary-tale of capitalism and classicism through its obsession with those very concepts, complete with dance-y chaos. The man has taken advantage of the people so the people should take advantage of the man. Taking on more of a narrative role, “Tall Poppies” tells the story of a man who lives in what seems to be comfortable mediocrity his entire life while residing from birth to death in the same town that he grew up being adored in. The narrator remarks that he wouldn’t be exceptional outside the confines of that town, so he does not blame him for never leaving. What follows are the typical mile markers of a conventional life — what we are told are the things that are supposed to make us happy: a dog, a wife, a house. As the song approaches an end though, so does this man’s life in a tragic turn of events. It is then up to the listener to decide if this story of a comfortable life is incredibly tragic in its adherence to the hamster wheel and loss of any unrealized potential or if you never try to go outside of what you know then you can never be disappointed about what you do or do not accomplish. If we take the name into account, this is more so a commentary on celebrating the everyday man and a celebration of a normal life rather than cutting it down, but it is ultimately up to the listener to decide what they believe is true.
“100% Endurance” is the come down from a previous night of partying and the accompanying emptiness and clarity that follows. Hungover ramblings that go back and forth almost instantaneously between everything matters and nothing does at all are both reassuring in the universality of the experience and sad in the instinct to replace people and meaning to self-protect, numb yourself, and to minimize everything as a means of preservation with such casual resolve. Maybe nothing means anything, but what if it does?
The Overload is not what it appears to be on the first listen, or even the second, but an album that continues to evolve and change in meaning as you listen to it and the various cast of characters it hosts. Funnily enough, it feels significant because of the meaning it imbues to these characters and the circumstances they share with the listener. Besides being very musically adept, that feels like the greatest differentiator in making The Overload a unique, fascinating, and significant release amidst the post punk avalanche of releases.
